Knitted fabric



- e. L. LOGAN May 13, 1941.

' IQ{NITTED FABRIC Original Filed July 6, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 gwcnio't' llo ala Em .AWrd

May 13,1941. e. LOGAN KNITTED FABRIC 3 Shets-Sheet 2 Original Filed July 6, 1937 I I I'll In I III lmlil May 13, 1941. e. LOGAN KNITTED FABRIC Original Filed July 6', 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 13, 1941 KNITTED FABRIC George L. Logan, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Tompkins Bros. 00., Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application July 6, 1937, Serial No. 152,213. Divided and this application August 4, 1939, Serial No. 288,439

1 Claim. Cl

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 152,213, filed July 6, 1937, on which Patent No. 2,187,132 was granted tome on January 16, 1940, and relates to knitted fabrics embodying a lay-in thread or yarn which is so arranged in the fabric as to form a predetermined pattern on the face thereof.

More especially, my invention has to do with knitted fabrics of the above mentioned character, wherein the lay-in thread or yarn is utilized to produce stripes or lines on the face of the fabric, with the lines or stripes extending vertically or at any desired angle respecting the horizontal and arranged at any desired spacing with respect to each other, without necessitating long floats on the back of the fabric, and without showing an intermingling of colors in the lines or stripes themselves, where solid or continuous stripes are required.

For example, a lay-in thread or yarn of one colormay be used to produce" solidvertical or substantially vertical lines or stripes spaced as much as forty needles apart, more or less, and another thread or yarn of another color used to form'a background between these vertical lines or stripes, which backgrcundcan also be of a solid color if. preferred. Of course, the invention is not limited to the formation of vertical lines or stripes by the lay-in thread or yarn, as the same may be knitted in the fabric so as to appear on the face of the fabric as an inclined line or'stripe, and the inclination thereof may be varied to any desired degree. Also, the background intermediate the stripes or lines formed by the lay-in thread or yarn may be composed of threads or yarns of two or more colors or of different or contrasting physical characteristics, so as to produce a mixed background rather than a background of a solid color, as mentioned above, if. desired.

One practical and important application of inn invention is found in the case of such designs as so-called over-plaids. Heretofore, it has been considered impossible or impracticable to produce over-plaid designs in knitted flat fabrics. By

way of explanation, a regular plaid is considered to be a'design of vertical. and horizontal stripes of one color, arranged .to form blocks or squares of any size, with the inner portion of the blocks or squares bounded by the stripes showing the stripe color and/ or another color. This type of design is not new in flat fabrics. However, for

an over-plaid, it is necessary to introduce still 7 another color in the fabric in horizontal or vertical stripes or lines, forming additional blocks or squares which are displaced both horizontally and vertically with respect to the blocks or squares of the regular plaid'line aforesaid; but it is important, or at least very desirable, that the color of the over-plaid stripes or lines shall not show on the face of the fabric at points between the over-plaid stripes or lines. I am now able to readily obtain such designs in flat fabrics, as will. hereinafter more fully appear.

The primary object of the invention is to produce a knitted flat fabric having a lay-in thread or yarn incorporated therein in such manner that the same appears at predetermined spaced points on. the face of the fabric, but not intermediate such points.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel fabric of the aforementioned character, which may be economically and conveniently knitted upon a conventional circular spring needle knittingmachine, and which affords a material extension of the range and variation of pattern design beyond what has heretofore been possible or practicable in the art of knitted fabrics.

Stil1 another object of the invention is to provide a knitted fiat fabric composed of regular stitches or loops forming the body thereof, and one or more lay-in threads or yarns knitted at certain predetermined spaced points only in the same horizontal row of regular stitches or loops into which the lay-in thread or yarn is introduced, with the regular stitches or loops floated behind the knitted loops of the lay-in thread or yarn at'the predetermined spaced points aforesaid, thus causing the knitted portions of the layin thread or yarn to appear at such points on the face of the fabric in the form of continuous stripes or lines.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter described and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claim.

,In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view in topplan, showing somewhat diagrammatically a portion of a needle, circle of a leaded or trick spring needle circular knitting machine, and its associated yarn or thread manipulating instrumentalities, the same having an arrangement as in practicing my invention as applied to knitting an over-plaid design;

Figure 1-A is a continuation of Figure 1;

Figures 2 and 2-A are developed views, shown somewhat diagrammatically in side elevation, illustrating the relationship of the various threads at the different points about the needle circle in the course of knitting one horizontal stitch,- row or feed in the production of a fabric having an over-plaid design'on the face thereof;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary top plan view of the needle circle, showing the manner in which the lay-in or backing thread or yarn is initially presented to the needles;

Figure 4 is a somewhat diagrammatic View of a fragmentary portion of a knitted fiat fabric illustrating the application of. my invention to the knitting of an over-plaid design.

Figure 5 is an enlarged view of a fragmentary section of fabric knitted according to my invention, and particularly showing the stitch structure, and the backing or lay-in thread knitted in such manner as to appear on the face of the fabric at predetermined needles only, thus forming a vertical stripe at such points in the fabric as represented by the shaded stitches or loops; and

Figures 6 to 12, inclusive are detail sectional views taken on the lines 6--6, 11, 8-8, 9-9, |l]|fl, ll l l and l'2|:2, respectively, of Figure lA, and showing the different steps of the knitting operations as they occur at the different points about the needle circle in the knitting of each horizontal row of stitches, as diagrammatically represented in Figure 2A.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Considering first Figures 1 and 1- A, there is represented in these views a well known type of circular spring needle knitting machine which includes the usual rotary needle cylinder (not shown) which carries the spring needles I, together with a suitable set-up of wheels and equipment arranged so as to produce an over-plaid in the knitted fabric, as shown in Figure 4. The Various thread feeding and manipulating wheels and equipment are for the most part conventional parts and are well known to those skilled in the art, but it will be observed that the same are arranged in a novel relationship so as to produce the new result, to wit, an over-plaid design, which I am able to now obtain on such a knitting machine. The fabric is knitted on the spring needles I in the usual tubular form, and as the stitches are cast off the needles, the fabric is taken up axially, preferably in an upward direction, by the usual take-up means (not shown) which forms a part of the conventional knitting machine rep-resented in the drawings.

The reference character 2 designates a conventional cloth push-down or shoe which is so mounted in relation to the needle circle as to push the previously knitted stitches or loops down on the needles as the needle circle, together with the knitted cloth, rotates in the direction of the arrows shown in Figures 1 and l-A. Intermediate the opposite ends of the push-down 2, there is mounted on the machine a backing wheel 3 which is adapted to introduce a backing or lay-in thread or yarn 4 into the needle circle. This backing thread is rep-resented in the draw ings as being blue in color, by way of example, but, of course, I do not desire to be limited to the use of any particular color. In introducing the backing thread 4 into the needle circle, it is laid in the usual manner, that is, alternately in front and back of selected needles. Preferably, the backing thread is alternately disposed in front of one needle and behind two needles, as best seen in Figure 3, but this arrangement may be varied as desired. To obtain the initial disposi tion of the backing thread, as shown in Figure 3, blocks 3 are inserted in the backing wheel 3 at suitable points, so that these blocks will engage every third needle of the needle circle and push the same inwardly towards the axis of the needle circle, thereby causing the backing thread to be brought down in front of every third needle. At those points where there are no blocks in the backing Wheel, the backing thread will be fed in behind the needles. As the needles advance in the direction of the arrows beyond the backing wheel, the backing thread is carried down on the needles by the clearing wheel 5. Thereafter, an-

other thread 6, which is represented in the drawings as a white thread, is put into the beards of the needles by the stitch wheel 1 at all needles except where it is desired to show the backing thread on the face of the fabric. It might be mentioned here that, as is usual in such knitting machines as represented herein, the back of the fabric is on the outside of the knitted tube and the face of the fabric is on the inside.

The thread 6 is kept out of certain selected or designated needles by blocks 1' in the stitch wheel 1, which act to close the selected needle beards engaged thereby, and thus prevent the thread from entering under the beards. These blocks 1', which are inserted between the blades of the stitch wheel 7, must be set on one of the needles which is pressed in by a block 3' of the backing wheel .3, as will hereinafter become more apparent. According to the arrangement illustrated in the drawings, the blocks 1 of the stitch wheel 1 are disposed to engage every twenty-first needle, thereby causing the thread 6 to be left out of these needles, as best seen in Figure 2A, at the point designated 8. At this same point, it will be noted that the backing thread 4 lies in front of this selected needle, that is, on the outside of the needle circle.

As the needles advance beyond the stitch wheel 1, they come into engagement with the presser 9, which presses all of the needle beards closed excepting at those points where there is a deep: slot 9 in the presser. These deep slots 9 must be set on the same needle as the blocks 1 of the stitch wheel 1, which, as previously mentioned, engage every twenty-first needle. Thus, as the cloth is allowed to raise by the termination of the push-down 2, and by the raising action of the lander burr l0, as the needles advance in the direction of the arrows, the old loops, together with the backing thread, are caused to slide up under the needle beards at the points 8. At this point 8', the thread 6 is still left out of the needle under the beard of which the backing thread and the old loop from the previous feed has just been received. These old loops are designated H. The old loops I! are not allowed to cast off at the point 8', but are pushed down again by the push-down wheel l2, while the backing thread 4 is retained under the beard of the needle at this point. In only the predetermined, designated needles, which, according to the example given herein, are composed of every twenty-first needle, is the backing thread under the needle beard, whereas the rest of the needles have the backing thread interwoven in back and in front of them in the regular manner.

As the needles advance beyond the push-down wheel i2, they come into engagement with the presser l3 which now presses all the needle beards closed, and then the lander burr I4 lands the old loops I l on the needle beards. Further advancement of the needles brings the same into position where the cast off wheel I5 casts the 01d loops off the needles, thereby completing the knitting of a succession of loops. The manipulation of the threads and formation of the stitches or loops as just described is shown step-by-step in Figures 6 to 12, inclusive, wherein Figure 6 represents the step of initial introduction of the backing or lay-in thread, and Figure 12 represents the final formation of this backing or lay-in thread into a stitch or loop at predetermined needles suchas those at the points designated 8, 8', etc., of Figure 2-A. In the completed fabric, knitted in the manner just described, the backing thread 4,

which has been illustrated as a blue thread, will be presented at spaced points on the face of the fabric in the form of solid or continuous stripes or lines, designated IS in Figures 4 and 5. The stripes or lines [6 are of a solid and uninterrupted blue color by reason of the fact that the white thread 6 is floated on the back of the fabric, and lies behind the backing thread stripes, at these points.

Referring now to Figure 1, S generally designates a striper which may be of any suitable construction, and the purpose of which is to introduce a thread of a third color into the fabric in carrying out the overplaid design shown in Figure 4. The striper includes a pair of fingers I1 and I8, each of which carries a separate thread so as to alternately present the same to the stitch wheel l9, which is adapted to feed these threads into the needles, one at a time, in the usual manner. In the case of the fabric illustrated in Figure 4, one of these threads, for example, the thread 20, is red in color, and the other thread 2| corresponds in color to the color of the backing thread, which has been shown as a blue thread. Of course, these colors may be varied as desired, according to the contrast preferred in the ultimate design to be produced on the fabric. Through the interchangeable action of the striper fingers l1 and H! of the striper S, in the usual and well known manner, vertically spaced blue stripes or lines I6, extending horizontally on the face of the fabric, are produced. These horizontal blue stripes I6, together with the vertical blue stripes l6, form blocks or squares on the fabric, and constitute the overplaid stripes or lines. The regular plaid design is formed by the red and white threads 2| and 6 respectively, which are knitted and striped in the fabric in the well known, conventional manner involving the use of a cut presser (not shown) ordinarily used for a tuck stitch pattern, and a striper additional to the one shown in the drawings to produce vertical white stripes or lines 22 and horizontal white stripes or lines 22', which, taken together, form blocks or squares on the face of the fabric which are displaced both vertically, as well as axially, respecting the blocks or squares formed by the horizontal and vertical blue stripes. With the set-up as illustrated in Figures 1 and 1-A, the background color on the face of the fabric will be composed of a mixture of red and white threads, which distinctly contrast with the various stripes, and present a very pleasing and attractive design.

It will be understood that Figures 1 and l-A show only so much of the set-up of the knitting machine as is essential to the knitting of the backing or lay-in thread to form a part of a pattern on the face of the fabric. In the case of the overplaid pattern shown in Figure 4, additional feeds are required, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art. In other words, the set-up shown in Figures 1 and 1-A would be duplicated on the opposite Side of the machine to provide a striper diametrically opposed to striper S, and this other striper would feed red and white threads instead of red and blue, this being necessary to produce the horizontal white stripes 22. There would also be another white thread fed diametrically opposite to the sti'tch wheel 1, and another blue backing or lay-in thread fed diametrically opposite to the backing wheel 3, these feeds being identical with those shown in the drawings. Accordingly, the regular stitches will be knitted in alternate red and white horizontal rows or courses when both stripers are feeding red threads. To produce a horizontal white stripe, the striper opposite to S is changed in the conventional manner to render its red feed inoperative and its white feed operative for one course, thus producing three successive white courses which constitute one horizontal white stripe. Thereupon, the striper opposite to S is immediately changed from a white feed to a red feed and the knitting is continued in alternate red and white courses until another horizontal White stripe is desired.

To get the vertical white stripe 22, the red threads are merely tucked behind the white at these points in a conventional manner so that red is on the back of the fabric and only the white shows on the face. In other words, at certain needles the red thread is allowed to remain under the beard of the needle without being cast off to form a knitted stitch, At the next white feed, the white knitted stitch and the red tucked stitch are cast off together with the white showing on the face of the fabric and the red concealed behind it.

As used in the spring needle knitting machine trade, the terms backing thread and lay-in thread are synonymous, and they are so intended to be understood in the foregoing specification and appended claim.

From the foregoing, various modifications of my new method and apparatus to obtain different striped or other designs will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Obviously, instead of obtaining the designs by the use of threads or yarns of contrasting colors, I can use threads or yarns of different physical characteristics. In any case, one of the essential features of the invention is to produce a contrasting effect at spaced points on the face of the fabric through the use of a backing or lay-in thread or yarn which is so related to the knitted fabric body as to appear at predetermined points on the face thereof, and which eliminates or obviates long floats.

It is to be understood that the method of and apparatus for knitting my improved fabric form the subject matter of my copending application hereinbefore referred to, and for this reason, the same are not claimed in the present application in which the claims are directed to the fabric per se.

While the specific details have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- A knitted fabric comprising a knitted body having generally vertical and horizontal stripes or lines forming a plaid design on the face of the body, and also having other generally vertical and horizontal stripes or lines forming an overplaid design on the face of the body, said generally vertical stripes or lines of the over-plaid design consisting of a contrasting lay-in thread or yarn interlaced with the knitted body so as to be substantially buried excepting at spaced in.- tervals, at which intervals said latter thread or yarn has the form of knitted stitches arranged contiguous so as to produce a continuous or solid stripe or line.

GEORGE L. LOGAN. 

